Golf
Perry Wins Buick After Austin Falters
The Associated Press
The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 30, 2008
GRAND BLANC, Mich. - GRAND BLANC, Mich. - Kentucky, Kenny Perry is coming home.The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 30, 2008
Perry shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Buick Open by a stroke at 19 under, likely locking up a spot on the Ryder Cup team that will face Europe at Valhalla about 40 miles from his birthplace.
"I'm ecstatic," he said. "It really won't sink in until I'm actually putting on the red, white and blue."
Perry was amazed he won at Warwick Hills for a second time because Tampa native Woody Austin closed with consecutive bogeys to lose the tournament and Bubba Watson missed a 12-footer that would have forced a playoff.
While Perry was on the driving range, he backed into earning $900,000.
"I still can't believe I won," he said. "I feel like I need to go make a birdie out there to win."
Austin and Watson shot 68s.
The 47-year-old Perry joined Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only multiple winners this year on the PGA Tour, became the oldest player to win at Warwick Hills and joined a short list of multiple champions in the event.
Vijay Singh has three Buick Open titles, while Woods, Julius Boros, Tony Lema and now Perry have two in the tournament that celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Austin became the leader by curling a 9-footer in at the 16th, then fell back into a tie by missing a 13-foot putt for par on the next hole. Austin three-putted from 63 feet to close the tournament and put Perry ahead.
"I threw it away," said Austin, whose demonstrative ways led him to cup a ball and slam it against the wood board marking the seventh tee. "I didn't hit the ball close enough to the hole the last two holes to counteract my yips.
"I've got to figure it out or I'd better quit."
CHAMPIONS: Loren Roberts won for the first time this year, shooting a 3-under 68 to cap a wire-to-wire, one-stroke victory over Nick Price and Lonnie Nielsen in the Commerce Bank Championship at East Meadow, N.Y.
Roberts had three second-place finishes on the Champions Tour this year, including last week to Jeff Sluman, but his 12-under 201 total gave him his eighth title on the over-50 circuit, matching his total from his PGA Tour career.
PGA EUROPEAN: Spanish rookie Pablo Larrazabal won the French Open at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, for his first PGA European Tour victory, closing with a 4-under 67 to beat Colin Montgomerie by four strokes.